Multicolor printing press frame construction



E. H. KLINGELFUSS 3,136,245

MULTICOLOR PRINTING PRESS FRAME CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 9,1964 Filed NOV. 2, 1961 /58 i r/ l- Q I INVENTOR I 5051:; 6 IY/nvt/fal!ATIORN I June 9, 1964 E. H. KLINGELFUSS 3,136,245

MULTICOLOR PRINTING PRESS FRAME CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov.2

Al NVENTOR a ene '44 BY an a/f": ATTORNW June 1964 E. H. KLINGELFUSS3,136,245

MULTICOLOR PRINTING PRESS FRAME CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 2, 1961 5Sheets-Sheet 3 wk e lNVENTOR BY. I

,1 V E ATTOR a I June 9, 1964 E. H. KLINGELFUSS 3,135,245

MULTICOLOR, PRINTING PRESS FRAME CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 FiledNov. 2, 1961 BY&

l Lplll IIIILII l l Jun 1964 E. H. KLINGELFUSS MULTICOLOR PRINTING PRESSFRAME CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed NOV. 2, 1961 INVENTOR gall/IllATTOR United States Patent 3,136,245 MULTICOLOR PRINTING PRESS FRAMECONSTRUCTION Eugene H. Klingelfuss, Pelham, N.Y., assignor to GeorgeHantscho Company, 'Inc., a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 2, 1961,Ser. No. 149,780 6 Claims. (Cl. 101-152) This invention relates toprinting presses and more specifically to a novel and improved printingpress and method of construction.

The manufacture of printing presses is a highly developed art andrequires the exercise of maximum precision in the fabrication of theindividual elements in order to insure 'clear and distinct printing atrelatively high speeds. For this reason presses are generally designedfor a specific purpose and the basic design of the press generally fixesthe size of the actual rollers utilized in the apparatus. In addition,it has been the practice of the industry. to utilize precisely formedframe elements and particularly the side plates to facilitate machiningoperations and insure accurate positioning of the rollers.

This invention has as one of its objects a novel and improved method offabricating printing presses which avoids the need for expensive framingmembers and at the same time greatly facilitates precision mounting ofthe rollers. This improved method is particularly advantageous in thefabrication of gravure presses, for it not only simplifies construction,but at the same time affords a press wherein printing rollers ofdifferent sizes may be easily 3,135,245 Patented June 9, 1964 ice mentsof the press. For simplicity, the illustrated embodiment of theinvention has been shown as applied to a gravure press and, accordingly,actual printing is accomplished by the cooperation of a printing roller13 with a pressure roller 14. It will be observed from FIG. 1 that therollers 13 and 14, as well as certain other elements of the press to bedescribed, are carried by vertical members 15 secured to the side plates11 and 12, which vertical members adjustably carry the rollers 13 and 14together with cooperating elements required to effect the printingprocess.

The utilization of the vertical elements 15 which are carried by each ofthe framing members 11 and 12 affords a highly improved and simplifiedmode of fabricating a press frame and greatly minimizes the time, effortand cost required in the fabrication of conventional frame elements.

In the fabrication of the frame elements 11 and 12 in accordance withthe invention, ordinary sheet steel of appropriate thickness may beutilized, notwithstanding slight variations in thickness or smalldegrees of warping which are characteristic of rolled steel. In thepreparation of these, steel plates for use as framing elements, theplate is first mounted on the bed of a suitable metal working machine bysecuring the plate in position: without the plate occupy its normalposition and yet be held firmly and quicklyintroduced into the apparatusand thereby I avoid the need for separate presses having printingrollers of different diameters.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a novel andimproved printing press wherein the several cooperating elements may beautomatically adjusted i to'control the pressure on the web beingprinted and the coordination of the ink supply and doctor blade on theprinting roller, notwithstandingthe size of the printing .ance with theinvention;

. FIG. 2 is a front view of a printing press taken in the direction ofthe arrow 2 of-FIG. 1 with portions broken away and shown in section; VP FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 1' taken along the line 3-3thereof;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 3 taken along the lines 44thereof; v

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 4 taken the line 55.

Printing presses of the type illustrated in the drawings generallycomprise a plurality of aligned units mechanalong ically coupled andphased to enable the individual presses to operate successively on asingle web, as in the printing of several different colors on a singleweb. For simplicity, however, only a single section of a press has beenillustrated in'the drawings, since the invention relates to theconstruction of a single section and the coupling of a plurality ofsections one to .the other may be carried out by procedures well knownin the field.

The single press illustrated in the drawings is generally denoted by thenumeral 10 and comprises a pair of spaced side plates 11 and 12 securedone to the other inappro priately spaced relationship to form the basicframe eleto permit appropriate machining operations. With the platesthusmounted, two spaced portions of one edge are carefully ground to providealigned areas which are precisely coplanar and may be utilized forsecuring a member 15 thereto. In FIG. 1 these edge areas or surfaces aredenoted by the letters A and B. These surfaces A and B arealso used ascontrol points for the location of other machining operations such asholes, for the attachment of the equipment thereto, whichmust beaccuratelyaligned with the printing rollers 13 and 14.

After the formation of the carefully aligned flats A and B and theformation of openings in the plate which are accurately aligned relativeto these flats, an elongated member 15 is then secured to the edge ofthe plate as illustrated in FIG. 1. While this elongated member 15 mayof course assume any desired shape, a cylindrical rod has been foundmost desirable. In the case of the rod, however, it'is preferable tomill a flat 16 extending throughout the length of the rod, asillustrated in section in FIG. 3 of the drawings. The rod 15 is thendrilled to receive bolts 17 which threadably engage the associated sideplate 11 or 12, as thecase may be. Since'the rod 15 is aligned bycooperation with the flats A and B, it is ofcourseessential that theother portions of the edge of theplate being formed be'cut slightlybelow the flats A and B so that there will be no interference with themounting of the rod 15. If desired, the entire edge of the plate 11 maybe carefully ground, in which case the rod 15 can be secured to the edgeby the utilization of a plurality of spaced bolts 17. Care is exercisedin the attaching and securing of the rod 15 to its associated sidplate=11 or 12, so that the longitudinal axis of the rod have beenpreviously drilled in the plate.

will be precisely at right angles to the. axes of holes that In thisway, the-rods 15 will be precisely vertical when the plates 11 and 12are formed into a press frame, ready to receive the operatingcomponents. a p

The frame construction described above is generally useful in thefabrication of a wide variety of printing presses though it isparticularly useful with the novel and improved pressconstn ction whichwill not be described.

As previously pointed out, the illustratedapparatus may be termed agravure press, in which case the. roller 13 wouldcarry the plate whilethe roller 14 about which the paper web'20 travels is a pressure rollerwhich urges the paper or web against the printing roller 13. The gravureor plate roller 13 is carried by a pair of slidable side members 21 and22. Each side member 21 and 22 has a vertically disposed opening 23therein to slidably receive the rods secured to the side frame members11 and 12. The front slope 24 of each of the side members 21 and 22 hasa cylindrical recess 25 therein for the receipt of a bearing structuregenerally denoted by the numeral 26 in FIG. 5, and the bearing structureis held in place by an overlying cap 27 which retains the bearingstructure there- A more detailed view of the support for the roller 13is shown in FIG. 5. In this figure the roller shaft 27' projects fromthe ends thereof and each end has a'reduced section 28 and a bearingshaft portion 29, the latter being slightly smaller in diameter than thereduced section 28. A bearing 31} is placed on the shaft section 29 andheld in position against the shoulder 31 by a cup-like cap 32 and bolt33, the latter extending through the cap and into the end of the shaftsection 29. The bearing 31) is disposed within a cylindrical housingportion 34 with a shoulder 35 on the housing 34 receiving a side wall ofthe outer race of bearing 3%). The bearing 30, and therefore the shafts2'7, 28 and 29, are held in place on the housing 34 by a cylindricalcollar 36 which is secured to a flange 37 on the housing 34 by aplurality of bolts 38.

With the bearing structure for the gravure roller as thus generallydenoted by the numeral 26 is slidable axially relative to its associatedbracket member 21 or 22, as the case 'may be. Thus axial motion isprovided for the purpose of adjusting the gravure roller relative to theweb for purposes of registration. The adjustment of the roller isaccomplished by a threaded screw generally denoted by the numeral 39.This threaded screw has areduced section 40 which rotatably engages acooperating slot in the bearing housing 34 as may be viewed more clearlyin FIG. 5. The inner end 41 of the adjustment screw 39 is threadablyreceived within a cooperating opening in the bracket member 21 and theouter end of the-member 39 carries a handwheel 42 for rotating the screwand moving the bearing assembly 26 axially of the roller 13.

Since the bracket members 21 and 22 are slidably carried by the rods orposts 15 secured to the front side of the frame members as described thegravure roller 13 can be moved vertically relative to the press. Thevertical adjustment is accomplished by means of a crank 4.3,as may beobserved in FIG. 1. The crank '43 operates a transverse shaft 44 carriedin side bracket members 45 and 46, as may be observed in FIGS. land 2.

Bo h bracket members 45 and 46 have vertically disposed openings 47therein for engagement with their respective guide members 15 and theyare secured in posiuppermost position. When the cam is moved clockwise,the forward end of the cam follower 55 will engage the stop 57 andlimitclockwise'motion of the lever. The total angular motion can be adjustedas may be desired, though in the present instance, it has been foundthat an angular motion of somewhat less than 90 degrees will afford thenecessary vertical motion for positioning the gravure roller. To lowerthe gravure roller beyond the point governed by the cam follower 55, thelatter can be moved upwardly to avoid engagement by the stop.

The bracket member 46 which carries the right hand end of the shaft 44is viewed in FIG. 2 and is arranged in a manner similar to thatdescribed in connection with the bracket member. 45, in that the shafthas a reduced portion So, which extends through the'bottom end of thelirk 58, and a further reduced section '59 carried in an eccentricbearing 6% rotatably mounted in the bracket member 46. Thus, as thelever 43 is operated, the links 51 and 58 will be operatedsimultaneously. The upper end of the link 51 is pivoted to the bracketmember 21 by a transverse pin 61 while the upper end of the link 28 ispivoted to the bracket member 22 by a transverse pin 62, so that theoperation of the lever 43 functions to raise and lower both ends of thegravure roller 13, as the case may be.

The gravure roller is driven from a gear box 63 coupled with a driveshaft 64. The driven shaft 65 of the gear boxf: carries a gear 65 whichmeshes with a gear Tfixedly secured to the right hand shaft portion ofthe gravure roller 13 as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 5. The verticaldisplacement of the gravure roller by rotation of the shaft 44 iscoordinated with'the design of the gears 66 and 67 so that the operationof the lever 43 to rotate the shaft will move the gravure roller out ofcontact with the web but without. actually disengaging gear 66 from gear67. .ln'this way synchronisation of successive press sections can alwaysbe maintained even though the printing process on one or more of'thepress sections may be interrupted by clockwise displacement of the lever43 as viewedv in FIG. 1. When printing is to be resumed, the handle 43is merely moved in the counterclockwise direction and, sincesynchronization has been maintained, no further adjustment need be made.

The pressure roller 14 is supported by a pair of adjustable carriers 68and 69 slidably mounted on columns 15 carried by the side frames 11 and12 with the shaft 14" of the roller being supported by appropriatebearings mounted in the carriers 63 and 69. 'Each of the carriers 68 and69 has anupwardly extended member 70 which shaft 72 that is journaled toa bracket member '73 carried tion by the use of bolts "48 whichextendthrough rearwardly extending flanges 49 and through theassociated framemember 11 or 12, as thecase may be. This procedure fixes and accuratelyaligns the brackets 45 and 46. The end of the shaft 44 engaging thebracket 45 has a reduced section 50 which extends through a cooperatingopening in the'lower end of alink 51 and a further reduced section 52which is concentrically located by the post 15and having an inwardlyextending flange 74 for fixedly securing it in position by means ofcooperating bolts 75 which extend through the adjoining frame member 11or 12, as the case may be. The shaft 72 carries a gear '76 which mesheswith a cooperating v worm gear '77 for rotation of the shaft 72.

I Since the bracket members'73are fixed, simultaneous rotation of thegears 76 by means'of the cooperating worms '77 will rotate'the shafts72'together with the relative to theshaft 44. The concentric portion 52is disposed within a bearing 53 having an eccentrically locatedreceiving opening and the bearing 53 is rotatable within the bracketmember45. A pin 54 locks the eccentric bearing 53 to the concentricshaft portion 52 so. that as the'rotatable bearing 53 isrotated, it willproduce eccentric motion of the shaft 44. The operating lever 43 isclamped to the eccentric bearing 53 so thatit may be moved through anangle to raise and lower the link 51. Movement of the lever 43 islimited; by a cam follower and stop member'SS which is pivotally securedto the lever and rides on a cam surface-56, as shown in FIG. 1. When thelever is moved in the counterclockwise position as shown in FIG. 1, thelink S1is in its threaded sections '71 to raise and lower the carriermembers '58 and 69 for adjustment of the pressure of roller 14 againstthe gravure roller 13; Simultaneous operation of the worms 77 iseffected by a'transverse shaft 78 journaled in the bracket membe'r-73and to which the worm gears 77 are fixedly secured. Que-end of the shaft78 carries arhand wheel 79'to effectvertical adjustment'of the carriers68 and 62.". i

The ink supply for the gravure' roller 13 is carried in an elongatedtrough $0 extending between the frame elements 11 and '12 and may besupportedin any desirable manner by'such frame elements; Ink is pumpedfrom the trough for application to the gravure roller 13 by means of apump '31 driven by an electric motorflZ,

pulleys 83 and 84 coupled by a belt 85, and a second set of pulleys 86and 87, the latter pulley driving pump shaft 88. The pulleys 86 and 87are coupled by a belt 89. It will be observed that the pulleys 84 and 86are secured to a shaft 90 which may be utilized to drive ink pumps onadjoining printing units. The pipe 91 constitutes the ink outlet of thepump 81 and extends upwardly in sliding relationship with a tube 92, thelatter tube being secured by appropriate brackets 93 to the carriers 68and 69 so that as the carrier is shifted upwardly and downwardly, thetelescoping tube section 92 will move upwardly and downwardly with thevertical displacement of the pressure roller 14. The upper end of thetube 92 is provided with a horizontal section 94 which extends looselyinto an ink distributing trough 95, having an ink applicator 96 with anelongated front opening 97 through which ink is applied to the gravureroller 13.

When ink is applied to the gravure roller there will be an excess whichis removed by the doctor blade 98 just prior to the printing process andexcess ink is caught by a trough 99 surrounding the under side of thegravure roller 13. As may be observed in FIG. trough 99 is carried onthe back side by a pair of bracket members 100 each having pins- 101which engage the U-shaped edge portion 99 of the trough 99. The frontedge of the trough 99 is supported by a transverse hollow shaft or tube102 whichis rotatably carried in ears 103 and 104 secured to the frontside of the pan 99. The shaft 102 further carries a lever 105 forrotation of the shaft to release the front of the pan and permit it todrop. Each end of the shaft 102 is cut away to form 180 trough-likeportions. The ends of the shaft are supported by stubs 106 havingdiametral flats and carried by the bracket members 21 and 22 by means ofoutwardly extending ears 107, as will be observed more .clearly inFIG. 1. The trough-like members 102 encompass an angular Width ofapproximately 180 degrees and have an internal diameter approximatelyequal to the diameter of the shafts 106. .With this arrangement and withthe trough-like supports 102 being aligned in avertical direction, thepan 99 when moved from a lowered position to its operating position canbe retained-in its operating position merely by rotating the shaft 102so that it will move into engagement with and be supported by the studs106. The excess ink retained by the pan 99 leaves the trough through anoutlet 108 and returns to the ink'pan 80. Y

The gravure roller 13 may be of any diameter depending on the nature ofthe material being printed, and this invention enables gravure rollersof different sizes to be installed into the press and the cooperatingelements of the press quickly. adjusted to accommodate the differentsized roller.- As pointed out previously, the pressure roller 14' may bequickly and easily adjusted in a vertical direction by the operation ofthe hand wheel .79 and sufficient movement of the roller 14 is providedin order to accommodate widely varying sizes of the gravure roller Itwas also shown that as the pressure roller is displaced vertically, theoutlet 97 for theink supply is also displaced vertically so that whenthe pressure'roller 14 is automatically adjusted relative-to the gravureroller 13 the outlet 97 of the ink supply will always maintain the samerelative position with the gravure roller notwithstanding the diameter.In addition to the adjustment of the pressure roller 14 and automaticadjustment of the ink supply 97, the invention: further. provides anautomatic adjustment of the doctor blade- 98 with the raising: orlowering of the pressure roller 14. i The adjustment of thedoctor..blade is accomplished by an improved support mechanism associald with and movable with the pressure roller carriers '68 and 69. Morespecifically, the carriers 68 and 69' each include a shaft 110' and 111respectively. The shaft 111 is fixedly mounted in the carrier 69 whilethe shaft 110 is'rotatably supported in the carrier-68. The outer end ofthe shaft 110 as viewed in FIG. 2 carries an arm .112 which is keyedthereto and extends downwardly. The bottom end of the arm is bifurcatedas denoted by the numeral 113 and includes a pivoted block 114 having athreaded opening 115 extending therethrough. A threaded shaft 116engages the opening 115 and it is rotatably secured to the carrier 68 at117. The outer end of the shaft 116 is provided with a hand wheel 118 topermit rotation of the shaft 116 with movement of the lever 112 throughan angle to rotate the shaft 110.

On the inner side of the carrier 68, a second lever 119 is fixedlysecured to the shaft 110 and extends downwardly and rearwardly, as maybe observed more clearly in FIGS. 1 and 2. The lower end of the lever119 carries a stub shaft 120 which extends inwardly of the press. Itwill be observed that with the structure thus far described, operationof the hand wheel 118 will move the lever 112 through an angle. Thismovement will effect rotation of the shaft 110 and correspondingmovement of the lever 119 through a proportionate angle. The actualsupport for the doctor blade 98 is effected by means of a third lever121 which is rotatably carried on the inner end of the shaft 110. Thislever 121 includes a collar 122 which slidably engages the shaft 120 andit is further provided with a forwardly extending portion 123 having apair of openings 124 therein. The portion 123 of the lever 121 isbifurcated as shown more clearly in FIG. 3, and receives a doctor bladesupporting member 125'pivoted'in position by a pin engaging one of theinnermost openings 124 in the lever portion 123 and extending throughthe support, 125. A second pin extends through the outermost opening 124and through the support member 125, though in this instance, the openingin the support member 125 is somewhat larger than the diameter of thepin to permit the member to be moved vertically through a predetermineddistance. I As will be'shown, this permits the doctor blade 98 whenproperly adjusted, to rest, under the influence of gravity, onthegravure roller 13 when the latter is in the lowered position definedby the cam 55 and stop 57 and to be pressed firmly against the gravureroller when in the operating position.

The doctorblade structure 98 which includes a transverse shaft 126carried at one end by the support member 125 and,as will be observed inFIG. 3, the outer end of the shaft 126 carries a gear sector 127. Ashaft 128 including a worm gear 129 is' rotatably journaled in a bracketmember 130 with the worm gear 129 meshed with the gear sector 127. Theshaft 128 carries a hand wheel 131 which functions to rotate the shaft126: and adjust the angle of the doctor blade assembly 98 relative tothe gravure roller 13..

The. opposite support for the doctor blade assembly lllClUdeSfi lever132 rotatably carried by the shaft 111 and includes a forwardlyextending portion 133 having a pair of openings 134 and 135. Thedoctor-blade supporting member 136 is fixedly pivoted by means of a pinextending through the openings 134 and the support is retained inposition with limited movement by means of a pin extending through theopening and through an enlarged opening 137 in the support 136,.

Rotation of the lever 132 on the shaft 111 is accomplished by anelongated tubular member 138 as shown more clearly in FIG. 2, which iswelded or otherwise .securedto-the lever 121 and to the lever 132 sothat rotation of the lever 121 about the shaft 110 will cause equivalentrotation'ofthe'lever 132about the shaft .111. "Doctor blade supportshaft 126 extends through the outer end of the support member 136 and isjournaled therein to permit rotation'of the doctor blade assembly whenthe adjusting hand wheel 131 is rotated; i The doctorblade assembly 98may take any desired form and in the present embodiment it consists ofan elongated plate 139 which is carried by collars 140 having aflattened surfacev to which the plate 139 is secured;

A plurality of individual collars spaced along the shaft 126 may beemployed or a single elongated sleeve may be utilized to lend addedrigidity if desired. The doctor blade141- is bolted to the plate 139 bymeans of an elongated strip 142 with the securing bolts extendingthrough the strip 142 and the doctor blade 141.

it is evident from the foregoing that as the pressure roller 14 isadjusted vertically by the operation of the hand wheel 79 that both theink supplying apparatus 96 and the doctor blade structure 98 will beraised and lowered with the pressure roller. Thus, should a smallergravure roller 13 be introduced and the pressure'roller lowered, thenwhen the pressure roller is in proper con tact with the gravure roller,the doctor bladewill be urged firmly against the gravure roller ofreduced size. Since the angle of the doctor blade relative to thegravure roller is important, this angle can be adjusted by the operationof the hand wheel 131. Thus, with the change in the size ofthe gravureroller 13, only two adjustments are required, namely, an adjustment forthe height of the pressure roller 14 and the adjustment for the angle ofthe doctor blade lldil with the gravure roller 13.

During the operation of the press as described, it is important tooscillate the doctor blade assembly 98 lengthwise of the roller.

This is accomplished by an n oscillating drive mechanism 143 which isdriven from the f shaft 64 by means of pulleys 144 and 145 and a belt146. The drive mechanism 143- has an output shaft 147 which carries anarm 148 that is rotated through an angle of 360 degrees. The arm 148 hasa rocker arm 149 pivoted recess, 154 in the outer end of the doctorblade support lever 132. Since the levers 132 and 129 are fixedly connected through the tube 138, as the lever 149 is rocked about its pivotit will cause both of the levers 121 and 132 to oscillate on theirrespective shafts 110 and 111. Since the levers 121 and 132 constitutethe principal support for the doctor blade assembly 98, it follows thatthe'doctor blade assembly will be oscillated relative to the gravureroller 13. Inasmuch as the lever 149 is rocked in a horizontal plane asshown in FIG. 3, and since the block 152 has its long axis in a verticalplane, it is evident that the doctor blade support structure can bemoved vertically while retaining'engagement between the block 152 andthe cooperating recess 154. Thus, notwithstanding the vertical positionof the pressure roller; 14, the oscillating mechanism will alwaysfunction to effect oscillation of the doctor blade as described above.It is to be understood that in the oscillation of the doctor bladesuitable means are provided on the bearing surfaces to effect thisoscillation and at the same time minimize wear and maintain clearancesbetween the oscillatory parts at a minimum consistent with effectiveoperation.

' The web to be printed enters the upper portion of the .the pressureroller 14 and then upwardly and outwardly about the roller 157. Slack inthe web 20 .being printed :may be compensated for through adjustment ofthe. roller.

155 by means of an adjusting hand Wheel 1558 which functions to displacethe roller 155 horizontally relative to the frame members 11 and112.Since this structure is well known in the art, a detailed descriptionis'not believed necessary. g I p With the invention as described above,it is evident that it affords a new and improved mode of fabricating aprinting press, since it greatly simplifies the fabrication of the sideframes Hand 12 and arranges for thecarriage of the essential elementsrequirin careful alignment on the frame members.

8 aligned posts or guides 15. In addition, the printing or gravureroller 13 may be modified in diameter to meet printing requirements andthe gravure rollers of different diameters can be accommodated quicklyand easily by merely adjusting the vertical position of the cooperatingpressure roller and the angle of the doctor blade assembly 98. Thevertical adjustment of the pressure roller 14 automatically adjusts theposition of the ink supply relative to the'gravure roller and theposition of the doctor blade. Inasmuch as the presses of the characterdescribed herein are usually coordinated with other similar presssections, the invention afiords means for interrupting the printing ofone or more of the press sections without losing the phase relationshipof the several sections. This is accomplished by permitting a verticaladjustment of the printing or gravure ro1ler'13 to permit it to be movedout of engagement with the web 20 and at the same time retain thedriving mechanism in engagement so that when the roller is movedback'into printing position, it will be automatically phased withcoordinated press sections which may be operating on the same web 20.The order of the steps set forth above in describing the fabrication ofa press in accordance with the invention and the order in which thesteps are set forth in the method claim are not critical as othersequences may be utilized. For instance, each unit maybe completedseparately and the rails may be afiixed to the frame members beforeerecting While only one embodiment of the invention is illustrated anddescribed, it is' understood that alterations, changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the-true scope and spirit thereof asdefined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:'

l. The method of fabricating amultiple coupled press comprising thesteps of forming machined planar surfaces on an edge of each of .aplurality of frame members, erecting corresponding'pairs of framemembers with their planar surfaces in coplanar. relationship, securingto planar surfaces of each pair of frame members machined rails inparallel alignment, assembling upon corresponding pairs of'said railsprinting unit element supports and slidably and adjustably positioningsaid supports on said rails for cooperation of said printing unitelements.

2. A web printing press comprising a pair of spaced frame members eachcarrying a vertically disposed rail with said rails being in preciseparallel alignment independent of the fixed alignment of said framemembers, a printing roller, printing roller carrying means slidablyengaging said rails for support of the printing roller therebetween,printing roller adjusting means secured to said rails and coupled tosaid printing roller carrying meansfor i adjustably positioningsaidprinting roller, a cooperating roller,-cooperating roller. carryingmeans s'lidably engaging 'saidrails and supporting the cooperatingroller therebetween, 'cooperatingroller adjusting means secured to saidrails and mechanically coupled to said cooperating roller carryingmeans'for positioning said cooperating roller relative to said printingroller, a doctor blade positioned to ride on said printing roller andhaving supporting shaft portions extending from the ends thereof, shaftsrotatably carried by, said cooperating roller carrying *means, a firstpair of levers with each lever having one end engaging one of the lastsaid shafts for angular and axial movement relativetheretojand theirother ends engaging said shaft portions, a second pair of levers eachhav-.

means for angularly adjusting said doctor blade about the axis of saidshaft portions.

4. A web printing press comprising a frame, a horizontally disposedprinting roller carried by the frame, a cooperating roller includingrollersupports carried by said frame and movable toward and away fromthe printing roller, a doctor blade positioned to ride on said printingroller and having shaft portions extending from the ends .thereof,shafts rotatably carried by said cooperating roller supports, a firstpair of levers with each lever having one end engaging one of the lastsaid shafts for angular and axial movement relative thereto and theother ends engaging said shaft portions, a second pair of levers eachhaving one end secured to one of said shafts, means pivoting the otherends of said second levers to the first said levers to permit movementof each pivoted pair toward and away from one another, means coupledwith at least one of the first said levers for reciprocating the firstsaid levers and the doctor blade, and means angularly adjusting saidshafts to shift both pairs of said levers and the doctor blade angularlyrelative to said frame.

5. A web printing press according to claim 4 including means forangularly adjusting said doctor blade about the axis of said shaftportions.

6. A web printing press according to claim 4 including an ink supplyhaving a vertically disposed telescopic supply tube and an outletpositioned in proximity to said printingroller for application of inkthereto, and means coupling said outlet to said cooperating rollersupports whereby movement of said cooperating roller will producecorresponding movement of said ink supply outlet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,492,591 Bowen May 6, 1924 2,377,482 Crafts June 5, 1945 2,542,229Bojanower et al. Feb. 20, 1951 2,624,061 Leas Jan. 6, 1953 2,821,913Johnson Feb. 4, 1958 2,988,989 Crawford June 20, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS827,839 France May 4, 1938

1. THE METHOD OF FABRICATING A MULTIPLE COUPLED PRESS COMPRISING THESTEPS OF FORMING MACHINED PLANAR SURFACES ON AN EDGE OF EACH OF APLURALITY OF FRAME MEMBERS, ERECTING CORRESPONDING PAIRS OF FRAMEMEMBERS WITH THEIR PLANAR SURFACES IN COPLANAR RELATIONSHIP, SECURING TOPLANAR SURFACES OF EACH PAIR OF FRAME MEMBERS MACHINED RAILS IN PARALLELALIGNMENT, ASSEMBLING UPON CORRESPONDING PAIRS OF SAID RAILS PRINTINGUNIT ELEMENT SUPPORTS AND SLIDABLY AND ADJUSTABLY POSITIONING SAIDSUPPORTS ON SAID RAILS FOR COOPERATION OF SAID PRINTING UNIT ELEMENTS.2. A WEB PRINTING PRESS COMPRISING A PAIR OF SPACED FRAME MEMBERS EACHCARRYING A VERTICALLY DISPOSED RAIL WITH SAID RAILS BEING IN PRECISEPARALLEL ALIGNMENT INDEPENDENT OF THE FIXED ALIGNMENT OF SAID FRAMEMEMBERS, A PRINTING ROLLER, PRINTING ROLLER CARRYING MEANS SLIDABLYENGAGING SAID RAILS FOR SUPPORT OF THE PRINTING ROLLER THEREBETWEEN,PRINTING ROLLER ADJUSTING MEANS SECURED TO SAID RAILS AND COUPLED TOSAID PRINTING ROLLER CARRYING MEANS FOR ADJUSTABLY POSITIONING SAIDPRINTING ROLLER, A COOPERATING ROLLER, COOPERATING ROLLER CARRYING MEANSSLIDABLY ENGAGING SAID RAILS AND SUPPORTING THE COOPERATING ROLLERTHEREBETWEEN, COOPERATING ROLLER ADJUSTING MEANS SECURED TO SAID RAILSAND MECHANICALLY COUPLED TO SAID COOPERATING ROLLER CARRYING MEANS FORPOSITIONING SAID COOPERATING ROLLER RELATIVE TO SAID PRINTING ROLLER, ADOCTOR BLADE POSITIONED TO RIDE ON SAID PRINTING ROLLER AND HAVINGSUPPORTING SHAFT PORTIONS EXTENDING FROM THE ENDS THEREOF, SHAFTSROTATABLY CARRIED BY SAID COOPERATING ROLLER CARRYING MEANS, A FIRSTPAIR OF LEVERS WITH EACH LEVER HAVING ONE END ENGAGING ONE OF THE LASTSAID SHAFTS FOR ANGULAR AND AXIAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO AND THEIROTHER ENDS ENGAGING SAID SHAFT PORTIONS, A SECOND PAIR OF LEVERS EACHHAVING ONE END SECURED TO ONE OF SAID SHAFTS, MEANS PIVOTING THE OTHERENDS OF SAID SECOND LEVERS TO THE FIRST SAID LEVERS TO PERMIT MOVEMENTOF THE LEVERS OF EACH PIVOTED PAIR TOWARD AND AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER,MEANS COUPLED WITH AT LEAST ONE OF THE FIRST SAID LEVERS FORRECIPROCATING THE FIRST SAID LEVERS AND THE DOCTOR BLADE, AND MEANS FORANGULARLY ADJUSTING SAID SHAFTS TO SHIFT BOTH PAIRS OF SAID LEVERS ANDDOCTOR BLADE ANGULARLY RELATIVE TO SAID FRAME.